Character limit: With or without spaces?

<p>For a few of my short-answer supplements, there is a 500 character maximum.
Does this include spaces? </p>

<p>(It’s becoming a problem for me: With spaces I’ve gone overboard, but without I’m just fine! Help!)</p>

<p>with spaces</p>

<p>I had the same problem. It’s with spaces.</p>

<p>Drat. Thanks for the help!</p>